Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee - 1167 Words

In her seminal novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee introduces many racial controversies that continue to plague America today. Specifically, Tom Robinson’s conviction: One summer morning, a poor white woman named Mayella Ewell invited black laborer Tom Robinson to perform manual labor for her. Soon, she begins to harbor a romantic attraction towards him. Unfortunately, such an advance is taboo in their society, and when Mayella is caught, her family quickly constructs a narrative of Tom Robinson raping Mayella. In their town, a black man is virtually unable to defend himself against such an accusation, and Tom Robinson is summarily convicted, sentenced, and killed in a botched escape attempt. The central question that these events pose is a difficult one: How could the court administrators and prosecutors convict Tom Robinson on what is obviously a trumped up charge? Many of these men were moral exemplars in their community, commonly thought of as â€Å"good† men. How could these good men do such an evil thing? We commonly think of the actions of Bob Ewell and the racist community as â€Å"evil†-but evil by what standards? In their community, many of the jurors and mob who came to the cell were seen as upstanding citizens. Instead, we must interrogate the very nature of good and evil-what do these valuations entail, and how do they apply to the real world? How can we explain their actions? Nietzsche’s account of moral norms It is here that theShow MoreRelatedKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1049 Words   |  5 PagesTo Kill a Mockingbird: How a Story could be based on True Events in Everyday LifeDaisy GaskinsCoastal Pines Technical Collegeâ€Æ'Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama. Her father was a former newspaper editor and proprietor, who had served as a state senator and practiced as a lawyer in Monroeville. Also Finch was known as the maiden name of Lee’s mother. With that being said Harper Lee became a writer like her father, but she became a American writer, famous for her race relations novel â€Å"ToRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee1000 Words   |  4 Pagesworld-wide recognition to the many faces of prejudice is an accomplishment of its own. Author Harper Lee has had the honor to accomplish just that through her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a moving and inspirational story about a young girl learning the difference between the good and the bad of the world. In the small town of Monroeville, Alabama, Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926. Growing up, Harper Lee had three siblings: two sisters and an older brother. She and her siblings grew up modestlyRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee873 Words   |  4 PagesIn the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates that â€Å"it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird† throughout the novel by writing innocent characters that have been harmed by evil. Tom Robinson’s persecution is a symbol for the death of a mockingbird. The hunters shooting the bird would in this case be the Maycomb County folk. Lee sets the time in the story in the early 1950s, when the Great Depression was going on and there was poverty everywhere. The mindset of people back then was that blackRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1290 Words   |  6 PagesHarper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird during a rough period in American history, also known as the Civil Rights Movement. This plot div es into the social issues faced by African-Americans in the south, like Tom Robinson. Lee felt that the unfair treatment towards blacks were persistent, not coming to an end any time in the foreseeable future. This dark movement drove her to publish this novel hopeful that it would encourage the society to realize that the harsh racism must stop. Lee effectivelyRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee963 Words   |  4 Pagesgrowing up, when older characters give advice to children or siblings.Growing up is used frequently in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Harper Lee uses the theme growing up in To Kill a Mockingbird to change characters opinion, develop characters through their world, and utilizes prejudice to reveal growing up. One major cause growing up is used in To Kill a Mockingbird is to represent a change of opinion. One part growing up was shown in is through the trial in part two of the novelRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1052 Words   |  5 PagesTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama in the late 30s early 40s , after the great depression when poverty and unemployment were widespread throughout the United States. Why is the preconception of racism, discrimination, and antagonism so highly related to some of the characters in this book? People often have a preconceived idea or are biased about one’s decision to live, dress, or talk. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee examines the preconceptionRead MoreHarper Lee and to Kill a Mockingbird931 Words   |  4 PagesHarper Lee and her Works Harper Lee knew first hand about the life in the south in the 1930s. She was born in Monroeville, Alabama in 1926 (Castleman 2). Harper Lee was described by one of her friends as Queen of the Tomboys (Castleman 3). Scout Finch, the main character of Lees Novel, To Kill a Mockinbird, was also a tomboy. Many aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird are autobiographical (Castleman 3). Harper Lees parents were Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Finch Lee. She was the youngestRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1695 Words   |  7 PagesIn To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee presents as a ‘tired old town’ where the inhabitants have ‘nowhere to go’ it is set in the 1930s when prejudices and racism were at a peak. Lee uses Maycomb town to highlight prejudices, racism, poverty and social inequality. In chapter 2 Lee presents the town of Maycomb to be poverty stricken, emphasised through the characterisation of Walter Cunningham. When it is discovered he has no lunch on the first day of school, Scout tries to explain the situation to MissRead MoreKill A Mockingbird, By Harper Lee1197 Words   |  5 Pagessuch as crops, houses, and land, and money was awfully limited. These conflicts construct Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird. In To Kill a Mocking Bird, Lee establishes the concurrence of good and evil, meaning whether people are naturally good or naturally evil. Lee uses symbolism, characterization, and plot to portray the instinctive of good and evil. To Kill a Mocking Bird, a novel by Harper Lee takes place during the 1930s in the Southern United States. The protagonist, Scout Finch,Read MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1876 Words   |  8 PagesThough Harper Lee only published two novels, her accomplishments are abundant. Throughout her career Lee claimed: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fiction, and Quill Award for Audio Book. Lee was also inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. This honor society is a huge accomplishment and is considered the highest recognition for artistic talent and accomplishment in the United States. Along with these accomplishments, her Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee - 1167 Words â€Å"If there s just one kind of folks, why can t they get along with each other? If they re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other?†. That was a pivotal question asked by Jem Finch. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird perfectly interprets the America as it was in the 30’s and even how it is today. People are so busy talking about how they want equality but they never treat people equally. Its a contradictory thing were dealing with in this country. People essentially not free in the â€Å"Land Of The Free†. We’ll only achieve this freedom by changing our mindsets to what is right as a whole country. In this novel Atticus Finch is tying to do whats right by trying to get justice for Tom Robinson. To Kill A Mockingbird was†¦show more content†¦Harper wrote her only novel based off of her experiences in Monroeville. She was born in the 20s when civil rights wasn t really being stood up for. Also during this time Jim Crow laws were in effect. Harper having had lived through this for most of her life translated what she had seen into the novel. Even though To Kill A Mockingbird was published in 1960, nearly 30 years after when the novel was set in, some of the same prejudice acts were still taking place. During 1960 the civil rights movement was almost to its height. It was a time when skin color determined how free you were in the â€Å"Land Of The Free†. The novel also relates to her life in some other ways. Just like Atticus Finch her father was a lawyer. Truman Capote , a fellow writer, was Harper s best friend. He was represented by Charles â€Å"Dill† Harris who always Maycomb in the summer and was Scout’s best friend. Scout also held the same tomboy traits as Harper did. Harper also used the names Cunningham and the most noteable Finch which came from her mother. Atticus Finch wanted to teach his kids how the real world was. He didn t want them to grow up in a false world made up fake expectations for the future. The kids learned many lessons from their father, the biggest one coming from him deciding to be the lawyer for Tom Robinson. He wanted them to see that he had morals and wanted to do what was

Reputation In The Crucible Essay Example For Students

Reputation In The Crucible Essay The deterioration of Salems social structure precipitated the murders of many innocent people. Arthur Millers depiction of the Salem witch trials, The Crucible, deals with a community that starts out looking like it is tightly knit and church loving. It turns out that once Tituba starts pointing her finger at the witches, the community starts pointing their fingers at each other. Hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their friends. The church, legal system and the togetherness of the community died so that children could protect their families social status. Being isolated from any other group of people with different beliefs created a church led Puritan society that was not able to accept a lot of change. The church was against the devil, at the same time it was against such things as dancing and other premature acts. The reputation of the family was very important to the members o f the community. When the girls were caught dancing in the woods, they lied to protect not just themselves but the reputation of their families. They claimed that the devil took them over and influenced them to dance. The girls also said that they saw members of the town standing with the devil. A community living in a puritan society like Salem could easily go into a chaotic state and have a difficult time dealing with what they consider to be the largest form of evil. Salems hysteria made the community lose faith in the spiritual beliefs that they were trying to strictly enforce. The church lost many of its parishioners because the interest of the town was now on Abigail because people wanted to know who was going to be named next. When the church was trying to excommunicate John Proctor, there were not enough people at church to do it. The people were getting misled so far as to leave a dagger stuck in the door of their ministers house: Tonight, when I open my door to leave my ho usea dagger clattered to the groundThere is danger for me.(128) were Parris exact words. With the conveyer of God fearing for his life there was no longer anyone but Abigail to lead the community. The justice system is designed to protect the people that it serves but during the trials the accused witch had two choices, death or imprisonment. The punishment of death was given to all people that pleaded not guilty; the other punishment was to plead guilty and go to jail. John Proctor gave his view of the justice system when he said I like not the smell of this authority (29). And do you know that near to four hundred are in the jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature?(85) said Danforth, describing the number of people that were in jail on charges of witchcraft. There were so many people executed that Hale commented there are orphans wandering from house to house; abandoned cattle bellow on the highroads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere(130) Salem was turning into a ghost town. With Abigail controlling the community, the church no longer getting the whole town to prayer, and an unjust legal system, it is natural that the people were in a state of total chaos. The unexplained was caused by the devil, so some members of Salem used the unexplained to their advantage. Mrs. Putnam told the truth when she said, There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires!(26) Mrs. Putnam did her share of spreading rumors after she heard that the girls were flying, so she asked Parris How high did she (Abigail) fly, how high?(11). These rumors happened because people did not want any blame put on to themselves. This passing the buck made people start fighting with one another such as Corey charging Putnam of having his daughter accuse a resident of witchcraft in order to get Coreys land. Abigail used her power of getting people to listen to her to her advantage when she charged Proctors spouse with being a witch so Abigail could live with John. This again proves that Abigail had control of the town and the unexplained turned neighbor against neighbor. The social breakdown in Salem was the major factor in the tragedy that took the lives of many innocent people. There was more than one tragedy in The Crucible. The first was the murdering of many innocent people, and the second was that a community that was once very close had been broken apart. It appeared that the people of Salem were like a family but isolation actually made them unable to adapt to a troublesome situation. If the community could have had a greater influence from another group of people then the social structure would have been able to adapt. .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 , .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 .postImageUrl , .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 , .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8:hover , .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8:visited , .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8:active { border:0!important; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8:active , .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8 .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud36f1949cb50e3a87e1e09994f4a04b8:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Child Abuse Essay Bibliography: